This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:
3GPP third generation partnership project
ACRF automatic radio configuration function
BTS base transceiver station
CM configuration management
DRCF dynamic radio configuration function
eNB EUTRAN Node B (evolved Node B)
EUTRAN evolved UTRAN (LTE)
IRP integration reference point
LTE long term evolution
LTE-A LTE-advanced
NMS network management server
Node B base station
OAM operation, administration and maintenance
UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network
One specification of interest that relates to a modern cellular network is 3GPP TS 36.300, V8.8.0 (2009-03), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (EUTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8), incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIG. 1 reproduces FIG. 4.1 of 3GPP TS 36.300, and shows the overall architecture of the EUTRAN system. The EUTRAN system includes eNodeBs (eNBs), providing the EUTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards UEs (user equipment, such as cellular phones). The eNBs are interconnected with each other by means of an X2 interface. The eNBs are also connected by means of an S1 interface to an evolved packet core (EPC), more specifically to a MME (Mobility Management Entity) by means of a S1 MME interface and to a Serving Gateway (SGW) by means of the S1 interface. The S1 interface supports a many to many relationship between MMEs/Serving Gateways and eNBs.
Also of interest are further releases of 3GPP LTE targeted towards future IMT-A systems, referred to for convenience simply as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). Reference can also be made to 3GPP TR 36.913, V0.0.6 (2008-05), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Requirements for Further Advancements for E-UTRA (LTE-Advanced) (Release X).
A current trend in OAM (not only for mobile networks) is to use “self-X” functionalities to reduce the burden, and the operating expense, of network operators. Network elements supporting such “self-X” functionalities perform tasks which otherwise management applications or human OAM operators would need to perform.
Currently there is a work item in the standardization body 3GPP SA5 that addresses the automatic generation and distribution of radio configuration data. This new functionality, which may be referred to as a “dynamic radio configuration function” (DRCF) or as an “automatic radio configuration function” (ARCF) is intended for a use case where a new eNB is inserted into a pre-existing radio network. In this event the ARCF would be used to calculate the values of those parameters which cannot use predefined or default values, e.g., those parameters that depend on the radio network environment such as the radio configuration of the (future) neighbour cells to the new eNB.
Candidate parameters for such functionality have been identified and discussed. What have not yet been defined are the mechanisms and messages that are needed for the operation of the ARCF.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of carrying out a configuration process in respect of a network element comprising the steps of:
generating first configuration parameters at a configuration process level;
determining required second configuration parameters which are not to be generated at the configuration process level;
notifying a level located above the configuration process level of the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters to cause this higher level to generate and provide the second configuration parameters;
generating the second configuration parameters at the higher level;
providing the second configuration parameters to the configuration process level; and
using the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters at the configuration process level to configure the network element.
Preferably, the configuration process is a self-configuration process of the network element. It may be to produce a managed object instance of a network element.
The first configuration parameters may be parameters generated at the configuration process level by an agent. The second configuration parameters may be parameters required by the configuration process level which are generated at the higher level. The second configuration parameters may be parameters generated at the higher level by a manager.
Preferably, the configuration process level indicates to the higher level which configuration parameters need to be generated at the higher level for the network element and in addition provides any needed information for the higher level to accomplish this task.
Preferably, the configuration process level indicates to the higher level that the second configuration parameters need to be generated by sending a notification containing the first configuration parameters. The higher level may respond to the notification by sending out an operation request to provide the second configuration parameters. The second configuration may be provided via a link to a configuration file containing the second configuration parameters. The configuration process level may be able to download the configuration file using the provided link.
Preferably, the configuration parameters are generated for a new network element which is to be inserted into a pre-existing network, the configuration parameters depending on the network environment such as the configuration of other network elements which will be neighbours to the network element.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an agent capable of carrying out a configuration process in respect of a network element, the agent comprising:
a configuration entity capable of obtaining required configuration parameters required to configure the network element, capable of generating first configuration parameters at a configuration process level, and capable of determining required second configuration parameters which are not to be generated at the configuration process level; andan interface via which the agent is capable of notifying a level located above the configuration process level of the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters to cause this higher level to generate and provide the second configuration parameters and capable of receiving the second configuration parameters; wherein the configuration entity is capable of using the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters at the configuration process level to configure the network element.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a manager capable of providing configuration parameters to be used in carrying out a configuration process in respect of a network element, the manager comprising:
an interface capable of receiving a notification of first configuration parameters generated at a configuration process level and required second configuration parameters which have not been generated at the configuration process level and capable of providing the second configuration parameters to the configuration process level in order to enable the configuration process level to use the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters to configure the network element; andan automatic configuration entity capable of generating the second configuration parameters.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a system capable of carrying out a configuration process in respect of a network element comprising an agent according to claim the second aspect of the invention and a manager according to the third aspect of the invention.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising software code that when executed on a computing system performs a method of carrying out a configuration process in respect of a network element, the method comprising the steps of:
generating first configuration parameters at a configuration process level;
determining required second configuration parameters which are not to be generated at the configuration process level;
notifying a level located above the configuration process level of the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters to cause this higher level to generate and provide the second configuration parameters;
generating the second configuration parameters at the higher level;
providing the second configuration parameters to the configuration process level; and
using the first configuration parameters and the second configuration parameters at the configuration process level to configure the network element.
Preferably, the computer program product has executable code portions which are capable of carrying out the steps of the method.
Preferably, the computer program product is stored on a computer-readable medium. In this way, it may be non-transitory in nature.